From the Editor

Biking Alameda

Paul Skrentny, the Alameda Magazine sales manager, is a bike fiend. He’s also my good friend. His passion for road biking specifically pushed me to buy my second road bike, and we’ve been pedaling the Island for years.
    We love the summer, when the days are long, so we can get in the fast-and-flat, 20-plus mile loop around Alameda after work. We start from his house near Lincoln Middle School, with Paul (of course) leading the way through the Fernside District and bearing toward the Estuary and onward to the West End. He lets up around the College of Alameda, where we chat about our workday or personal challenges. Then he’s all back to business along Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway, me riding his wheel to Main Street, where we hit the predictable headwind that worsens as we near and then pass Rosenblum Cellars. After a mellow pace around Alameda Point and a meandering pass through Crab Cove, he steps it up on Shore Line, easing up only at Broadway.
    Our route takes us over the Bay Farm bike bridge on a loop around Shoreline Park, putting us back into that pesky headwind. I usually lag behind here, because I know he’ll wait for me at the ferry. My strategy is to conserve for the last big push on Harbor Bay Parkway. In our 4½ years of hammering that stretch, I’ve lead only once, and I can chalk that up to a pre-ride cup of Peet’s (near-nuclear) coffee. Paul and his fiancée, Barbara Wilcox, are gracious hosts, so at ride’s end, I can always count on Paul to invite me in for a beer or a glass of wine and some gourmet snacks, perfect for our post-ride recap.
    Over the years, I’ve discovered that Alameda is a biking paradise, full of bicycling resources. It’s got your friendly shops, your bike teams, your easy-to-follow bike routes. It’s also flat and often without much traffic. So now we’re sharing all those Alameda two-wheel resources with you. Alameda mom and biking enthusiast Susan E. Davis and hardcore cyclist-photographer Philip Kaake recap all of it in “Pedal Power—Your Ultimate Guide to Biking in Alameda.”
    Maybe this guide of all things bike is just the right thing to motivate you. Paul and I—we’ll see you out there.